Why am I hungrier and whats with the added weight?

Question
I've been getting into really good exercise for about a year now. First I started off with very heavy cardio and some strength training, but I quickly shifted more over to strength training and cardio was less and less important on my list for about 3 months. At this time I was 5 foot and 2 1/2 inches, 117 pounds, 14 years of age.

I continued with solid strength training and gradually incorporated cardio back into my exercise routine about a month ago. I run about 1 1/2 a mile 2 or 3 times a week. I still do strength training, and my muscles are growing (I'm quite proud of them too!)

My question comes in now. As of the moment I am 5 foot and 3 inches tall, 124.3 pounds, and 15 years of age. I thought I was losing weight? I read somewhere that muscle weighs more than fat, but not really enough to throw off the scale like that. I am not much bigger than I was a year ago. I do have pudges of fat on my lower abdomen and back, and a moderate amount on my thighs and arms, but the muscle is still visible. Also, I've steadily felt myself getting hungrier when I incorporate more cardio into my workout, as I had an extremely slowly metabolism before (I could skip dinner for 2 days and not be hungry, had a bowel movement about once a week, etc.) but I feel like I need to eat more. I have a fairly balanced diet. The numbers on the scale fluctuate a lot from 122 - 125. Is this normal? What's with the weight? What is happening really?

Answer
Dear Jesse, you are a growing teenager and you are comparing your body to an adult body. Most of the exercise and strength diets, target fully matured adults, not growing teenagers. Your body is going to be changing until you are 18-19 for a boy and about 18 years for a girl. Keep doing what you are doing, and yes your weight will fluctuate as muscle retains some fluid after a hard work-out, and every inch you grow is worth about 5-7 pounds on the scale. You don't say how many calories you are eating, or if you are eating enough protein and healthy fats to rebuild those broken down muscles. If the protein is not available for regrowth, your muscles won't regrow like they should. Your fairly balanced diet should contain foods from all the food groups, and contain enough calories to help your body grow and mature. You should be eating over 2000 calories per day, more if you are losing weight weekly. A lot of body builders eat a protein source every two-three hours to fuel muscle growth. Chicken breast, egg whites, protein shakes, are some examples of healthy protein sources. Hope that helps, Laura Kraemer,Slimkids.com

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